Replica of Aztec Capital to be Built in Mexico

A replica of the sacred center of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, will begin construction this year outside Mexico City, the directors of the project said.

Notable among the 21 buildings that will make up the replica of Tenochtitlan, a city founded in the 14th century and one of the biggest of its day, will be the pyramids of Coacalco, Cihuacoatl, Chicomecoatl and Xochiquetzal, the Temple of the Sun and courts for the pre-Columbian ball game that played a central role in Aztec culture, all of them surrounded by a canal.

"Rescuing history" is the key to this project, which will occupy some 300 hectares (740 acres), and where besides the pre-Columbian-style buildings there will also be offices, two Hilton hotels and two shopping malls, one of them dedicated to international designer fashions.

The buildings of the "sacred premises" will preserve the original dimensions, colors and paintings that, according to the observations of chroniclers like the Spanish conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, decorated the Aztec capital.